How Are Anxiety Attacks And Depression Related?
April 28, 2010 by Lyle Holmes · Leave a Comment
Anxiety attacks are when the body reacts to stress. Often the stress is something that happens to the individual that is having the attack. Many times, the anxiety is caused by depression. Depression and anxiety, most of the time, walk hand in hand with one another.
Most people who have an anxiety attack will suffer from an anxiety disorder. These include obsessive compulsive disorder, general anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder and panic disorder. They will generally bring on depression.
Chances are, if you go to the doctor for anxiety, that you will get a prescription for both anti-anxiety medication as well as anti-depressants. This is because the doctor will not want you to take anti-anxiety medication for a longer period of time. Anti-anxiety medication, once called tranquilizer, usually consists of Xanax, Klonopin or other types of newer medications designed to take the edge off of an anxiety attack. But this is just a mask for the anxiety. You need can take these to get the edge off of the anxiety, but they are not the cure.
In most cases, there is an underlying cause for the anxiety attacks. Depression is the major factor. This is why you will also get an anti-depressant to help alleviate the anxiety attack symptoms. Doctors believe that a chemical imbalance is the major factor in why people have anxiety attacks. When you take the anti-depression medication, you will start to balance out the chemical imbalance that causes the anxiety or panic attacks.
The depression medication prescribed is usually Zoloft, Paxil or another SSRI. These help release serotonin into your bloodstream and to your brain, balancing out the lack of this chemical in your brain. People who suffer from anxiety attacks often feel better once they are on one of these drugs. The drugs allow them to focus, be less depressed and feel better about themselves.
While some people may experience only one anxiety attack, others may have them often. In some cases, anxiety attacks can interfere with your job, your family and other aspects of your life. This is why it is so important for you to follow up with your doctor and get the right treatment.
Doctors may do tests for thyroid conditions and, if you are menopausal, for hormone imbalances. They will want to pinpoint why you are having anxiety attacks. If there is no physical cause, they will send you to a counselor who will then treat you for your anxiety as appropriate. You may be diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder, panic attacks or general anxiety disorder. If you have undergone stress, you may be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. All of these conditions can be helped by treating it with anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medication. It may take a few weeks before your depression lifts after taking the anti-depressants, which is why you will have the anti-anxiety medication on hand. Once the anti-depressants have taken effect, you will find that you do not need to take the anti-anxiety medication as often.
Working Your Way Through An Anxiety Attack
April 23, 2010 by Lyle Holmes · Leave a Comment
One of the secrets to minimizing an anxiety attack is to learn to work your way through the anxiety attack. Anyone who has ever undergone the panic and suffering that accompanies an anxiety attack knows the feeling of fear that is pretty much indescribable to anyone who has not experienced this sensation. Follow these tips to help work yourself through the anxiety attack:
Realize that it is anxiety attack
Once you realize that you are having an anxiety attack, you can calm yourself down and think that rationally, this will pass. Anyone who suffers with anxiety understands the sensation comes and goes. When you are having an anxiety attack, realize that this is real, it is a panic attack, but it will go away. Realizing that you are having an anxiety attack is the first step towards working your way through an anxiety attack.
Do something physical
Exercise, clean, cook or do anything that will get your mind off of the attack. Some people report that even cleaning their bathroom will help them through an anxiety attack. Any physical activity releases endorphins and elevates your mood. It can also help you work through your stress, which is usually the underlying cause of an anxiety attack. Do not feel helpless, empower yourself by doing something physical, the more productive the better.
Reach out to your support network
Reach out to friends and family who understand what you are going through. This is not an effort to look for pity, but a chance for your friends and family to help you when you need it the most. You would do the same for them, so give them the chance to help you.
Many people are ashamed that they are feeling anxious and keep this secret from friends and family. This only makes things worse. You will not have anyone to talk to when needed. And when you finally release your secret, you will be surprised to learn how many people actually suffer from the same anxious feelings! You are far from alone when it comes to anxiety attacks. As a matter of fact, the majority of people have experienced some sort of anxiety or panic attack at least once in their lives.
By understanding the anxiety attack, knowing what it feels like and that it will pass, you can help yourself overcome the feelings of a panic attack. Doing something physical and reaching out to your support network will also help you overcome an anxiety attack. Use medication as a last resort instead of at once. You can empower yourself against anxiety attacks and do not have to be held a prisoner of crippling fear of the unknown.
What Is An Anxiety Attack?
April 19, 2010 by Lyle Holmes · Leave a Comment
If you have ever suffered from an anxiety attack, you know it. Your heart seems to be leaping out of your chest and you feel as though you are crawling out of your skin. Your skin feels cold and clammy, you are trembling and even shaking. Your thoughts are jumbled and you may even have trouble breathing or swallowing. You feel as though you are a prisoner of your mind, and you are.
About 20 percent of the population will, at one time in their life, suffer from an anxiety attack. Many people who end up having an anxiety attack wind up in the hospital emergency room, convinced that they are having a heart attack. Many of the anxiety attack symptoms are similar to that of a heart attack, although heart attacks do not generally present with heart palpitations. You will notice that something is wrong.
Many people feel little sympathy for those who have anxiety and feel that they should just “snap out of it.” What most do not realize is that anxiety disorders cause anxiety attacks and they are very real. Someone can no more snap out of an anxiety attack than they can a broken leg.
Our bodies are trained to react in a certain way when we feel under a great deal of stress or face life threatening situations. But sometimes, the brain chemicals are unbalanced, giving us the sensation that there is something wrong, although in reality, there isn’t. Our bodies then search for a way to come up within something to justify the feelings we are having. Many people who have frequent anxiety attacks have obsessive compulsive disorder. In such cases, people will have intrusive thoughts that will bother them to the point that they repeat rituals. Frequent hand washing is one of the rituals often repeated by someone with obsessive compulsive disorder.
An anxiety attack is our body’s reaction to stress. The stress is usually something that occurs environmentally. Most people who have anxiety attacks do so after a stressful event in their lives. They often come after the death of a loved one, divorce or loss of a job. Someone who suffers more than one anxiety attacks is habitually diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. The anxiety disorder can be a number of different disorders including general anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, social disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder. Most of the symptoms are similar to one another and the treatment for these symptoms is also very similar.
Anti-anxiety medication is usually combined with an anti-depressant as well as therapy to combat anxiety attacks. While anxiety attacks can be very scary and even crippling to a point, they can also be treated in a number of different ways, including medication, therapy and even herbal treatments. While an anxiety attack is not a life threatening illness, it can end up causing havoc in your life if you do not get some treatment.